Romney Amps Up Tough Tone on China

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio – Mitt Romney, ratcheting up his tough tone on China, criticized the president for postponing a government currency report until after the election instead of seizing the opportunity to label China a currency manipulator.

“The president’s failed to call China a currency manipulator,” Mr. Romney said at a campaign rally here Saturday. “He had the occasion on Friday to come out with that official designation. Do you know what they said? ‘We’re not going to make any determination until after the election.’”

The Treasury Department announced Friday that its semi-annual currency report to Congress, which covers major trade partners and was scheduled for Oct.15, would be delayed “in order to assess progress” after a meeting between the Group of 20 leading industrialized and emerging nations in Mexico City in early November. That means the report is unlikely to come before Election Day.

But delays with such reports are common, among both Democratic and Republican administrations, particularly when there are upcoming meetings with global finance ministers.

Administration officials have resisted labeling China a currency manipulator so far, instead applying pressure through other diplomatic methods they view as more effective.

Mr. Romney explained that, by not allowing their currency to appreciate, China is able to artificially hold down the costs of goods to the United States’ detriment. “American companies that are making these same products, they go out of business if their Chinese products are so much cheaper than the real costs behind them,” Mr. Romney said.

“Let me tell you on day one of my administration I will label China a currency manipulator,” Mr. Romney said Saturday. “We’ve got to get those jobs back and get trade to be fair.”

Dubbing a country a manipulator doesn’t inherently include punishments. Instead, as the issue gained attention on the campaign trail, the Obama administration has filed trade complaints again China on issues such as automobiles.

Even with those moves, voters believe Mr. Romney is better equipped to deal with economic challenges relating to China than President Barack Obama. Some 45% of likely voters said Mr. Romney would be better able to deal with those issues in a late September Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. Just 37% said the same of Mr. Obama.

The Obama campaign sought to turn the tables on Mr. Romney, casting its opponent as more than willing to do business with China. “When President Obama stood up to China on behalf of American tire workers, Romney called it ‘decidedly bad for the nation.’ In the private sector, he led investments in companies that shipped American jobs to China,” said Danny Kanner, a spokesman for the Obama campaign.

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